Combined sight gauge and thermometer



Patented Jan. 26, 1926.l

UNITED STA-TES PATENT. OFFICE.

MATTHEW J. BUTLER AND ELHER A. J'HNSON, 0F JQLIET, ILLINOIS.

COMBINED SIGHT GAUGE AND THEBIMETEB.V

Application med August '1, 1988. Serial lo. 654,984.

To all 'whom t may concem.' l

Be it known that we, MA'rrHEw J. BUTLER and ELMER A. JOHNSON, citizens of the `{Inited States, residing at Joliet, in the county of Will and State of Illinois, have invented` a lcertain new and useful Combined Sight Gauge and Thermometer, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to liquid level gauges combined with a thermometer, It is frequentl desirable to know the level of a liquid and1 its temperature at the vsame time, and for this purpose we have constructed a unitary device to indicate both of these. Heretofore, thermometers have been used in connection with level indicators, but these have been open to the objection' that the thermometer records the temperature in Athe level gauge, or that a flow of liquid past the thermometer is required to register the desired temperature. In other devices the utility is limited to open vessels wherein the level is indicated by the positionof a float.

In our invention we provide a unitary structure Vcontaining a thermometer, the bulb of which is situated at the point where the temperature is desired.

One object of our invention isto provide a liquid level gauge of the usual type containing a vertically reading thermometer the stem of which can be angular to follow the lines of the gauge.

Another object is to place thebulb at the innermost point of the device and to protect the same from breakage.

Another object is to provide a separate channel in the gauge members to receive the thermometer and to carry the bulb freely into the interior of the system being observed.

In the drawings, we have disclosed a form which is suitable for observing the level and the temperature of oil in a transformer erin a machine bearing. Figure 1 shows a front view of the device with the thermometer and oil level readily visible. Fig. 2 shows a side view in section of Fig. l, with the thermometer glazed into the level glass. Fig. 3 is a plan view partly in section.

Fig. 4 is a modification of therelation between the thermometer and the bracket.

l In' our invention we provide a new form of bracket member adapted to transmit an indication f temperature and liquid level level gauge 8.

from one end to the other. In the drawings the bracket member 5 illustrates one form of this part of the invention. It is adaptedv by the screw threaded end 6 to be'screwed into a wall of a vessel or casing having theliquid therein.

As in the ordinary level gauge there is a passagewa 7 communicating from the interior of t e vessel to the An trans arent material suitable for the liqui to be eld therein may beused in the level gauge. Ordinarilyv thisis glass and hereinafter it will be referred to as glass,

but can be of other material if required. In the form shown we have dispensed with the usual valve in a level gauge, but have provided. a draining basin 9 and aI pet cock 10 to remove the liquid from the gauge or to remove sediment. The arrangement we have used provides for placin the pet cock vertically 1n line with the leve gau e 8, the inside of which communicates to t e basin 9 by the openin 11. It is thus an easy matter to clean a irty gauge b removing the pet cock without removing t e gauge.

Any desired method may be used to attach the gauge lass 8 to the bracket. In Fig. 2, we show t e glass 8 set into an annular channel 12 on the seat 13 of the bracket member 5. A cement or packing means 15 is used to make a seal, as 1s required.

In any such gauge it is necessary to protect the gauge against breakage by a casing or framework extendin along the glass tube. Where a single 'bracket member is vused to support the. tube the protecting- .means servesalso to hold a ca for th'e gauge glass and to retain it in t e bracket member. 4

In our device we have provided a tubular casing member 16 as the protecting means. The seat 13 is made circular to receive the tubular member 16, removably held to the seat by the screws 18. l

` The casing 16 is provided with o enings 17 to render the gauge visible. e top of the easing is screw threaded at 19 to receive the cap 20 which is screwed therein to cover the top of the gauge and to -hold it soA xed. A packing or gasket 21 is interposed between the glass 8 and the cap 20. A vent 22 is provided in the cap.

The above features relate generally tothe I liquid level gauge. But our bracket member likewise has other means to ermit access to the interior of the vesse 1n order to cause registration of the temperature within at a point visible substantially in the line of the level gauge. In the drawings the bracket 5, in art described above, has been so ada ted t at this means combined therein ma res a compact and unitary structure. l

The circular seat 13 is preferably chosen on a diametral plane of the bracket member as shown because here it is of eater area. Below the lane of seat 13 is t e passageway 7 and a. ove it we provide a; second passageway 24 with a threaded extension 25 as a part of thebracket.' `This would ordinarily communicate to the liquid 1n `the vessel, but we prefer to have it closed off by a hollow screw cap 26 having the thin walled extension 27. The passageways 24 is shown with a substantial width near the front end and may be tapered narrowing towards the back, as indicated by the wall 28 in Fig. 3.

The purpose of this upper closed passageway is to receive a thermometer stem with the bulb 30, the bulb being rearmost. 1n the bracket and protected by the extension 27. The extension is sufficiently long so that the bulb assumes the temperature of the surrounding liquid and so registers the true temperature. The purpose'of thethin wall protector is three-fold. -Primar1ly 1t protects the bulb from breakage, but in addition it closes the passageway 24 to the liquid, permitting the front end of the passageway to be open as shown at 31. A th1rd pur ose of the extension 27 is to keep the liqui away from the thin glass of the bulb. At higher temperatures, many solutions exert a solvent action on lass which is appreciable over a period of time. In such a case the thin glass of the thermometer bulb would soon be eaten away and serious eonsequenceskmight ensue. It would at least entail labor and ex ense for avrenewal.

n the drawings we have rovided two general methods of inserting t e thermometer. In Figs. 1 and 2 the thermometer 23 is represented as glazed into the au e glass S, the line 32 representin a glazin `joint. At 33 a right angled ben is made in the thermometer and the stem portion 29 extends thru the glass diametrically, and is sealed or integral therewith at 34 and 35.

In Fig. 3 we have designated other positions for the thermometer which give additional features to the device as a whole. The upright position of the thermometer is indicated in section by the numeral 23 in front 'of the gau e glass 8, the two being here separate mem ers.

In Fig. 4, the circular section 36 indicates the vertical portion of the thermometer positioned at any other point about the periphery of the gauge glass 8, As shown, it

is located at the side thereof permittn an angular and direct vextent of the t ermometer stem 37 rearwardly in ldistinction to the curved form shown at 39 in Fig. 3.

In whatever placed it is un erstood that suitable openings in the casing are provided for visibilit The thermometer in Fig. 4 has fewer ben s and can be readily removed and inserted without removal of the gauge glass from its seat 13. It may also be desirable at times to remove the thermometer and to insert a recordin thermocouple, or other temperature-sensitive devices.

Having described one embodiment of our invention for the purpose of illustration, we desire that the disclosure of the drawings and the above description in no way limit theinvention short ofthe terms of the appendedclaims.

We claim as our invention:

1. A unitary liquid level gauge and thermometer having, in combination, a bracket member adapted to be secured to a vessel containing a liquid, a level glass secured to .sa-id bracket, said bracket having a passageway therein communicating from the level glass to the interior of the vessel, said bracket having also a second passageway therein, a tubular member rigid with said bracket having its opening alined with said second passageway, and means to close said second passageway at said tubular member, said second passageway and said tubular member being adapted to house a thernionieter adapted to have its bulb in said tube.

2. In a liquid level gauge having at the front a sight glass, a bracket carrying said sight glass, said bracket having one passageway through the bracket to the sight glass and also a second passageway open at its front end, and means to close the second. passageway at its rear end, said means being adapted to extend the length of the second passageway to the rear, said second passageway and said extending meansbeing adapted to house a temperature-sensitive device.

3. In a liquid level gauge for a vessel, a supporting member -with a passageway therein for the liquid and having also a second passageway alongside the first to eX- tend into the interior of the vessel, a tubular cap adapted to be positioned inside the vessel to close the second passageway from communication to the intei'ioi' of the vessel, said second passageway being' adapted to house a temperature-sensitive device.

4. A unitary liquid level gauge and thermometer for a vessel having, in combination, a sight glass, a bracket member having a seat to support the sight glass, said bracket being hollow forming a basin lowermost inside the bracket, a valve communicating to said basin, said seat having an opening osition the thermometer is a sight glass with a thermometer glazed' therein, the stem of the thermometer passing through the glass and extending at right angles thereto, a bracket support for the sight glass adapted for connection with the vessel, a seat on said bracket to receive the glass, packing means between the glass and the seat, said bracket having a passageway therein communicating from the glass through the seat to the end fitting the vessel, and having also a second passageway alongside the first passageway, means to extend and close the second passageway at the vessel cnd of the bracket, the stem of said thermometer being adapted for insertion into said second passageway with the bulb of said thermometer located in the passage closing means.

6. A. unitary liquid level gauge and thermometer for` a vessel, having, in combination. a bracket member, a casing on said bracket member and secured thereto, a removable cap with a vent therein sefured to the top of said casing. a sight gauge glass held between sai/d bracket and cap, packing means interposed between the gauge glass and the cap and bracket, said bracket having apassageway therethrough to the gauge glass, and having also a second passageway alongside the first passageway communicating at one end to the space between the gauge glass and theecasing, means to extend and close the other end of the second passageway,

a bent thermometer in the secondpassageand its scale alongside the gauge glass, there being suitable openings in the casing whereby the temperature and level of a liquid in the vessel is visibly registered. p

7. In a liquid level sight gauge for a vessel having `a sight glass and a supporting bracket member attached to the vessel, a thermometer, and means for containing said thermometer, comprising an open ended passageway through the bracket to receive the thermometer, means to extend and close said passageway at a point within the vessel, said means being a relatively thin casing adapted to house the bulb of the thermometer, the open end of the passageway being adjacent the sight glass, and the thermometer being suitably bent whereby the scale is alongside the sight glass.

8. A unitary liquid level gauge and thermometer for a vessel comprising, in combination, a, bracket member adapted to be secured to the vessel, a casing on the bracket and secured thereto, a removable cap secured to the top of the casing, the bracket having a seat thereon and a passageway through said seat to the vessel, and having also a second passageway alongside the first abovesaid seat, means adapted to be within the vessel screwed to the bracket, to extend and to close the second passageway, a unitary' level gauge glass and thermometer, the scale of the thermometer being a part of the wall of the gauge glass, the stem of the thermometer being at right angles to the gauge glass and situatedabove the end thereof, and means on the cap and seat to hold the-` gauge glass therebetween over the hole in the seat, the stem of the thermometer being in the second passageway with its bulb in said extending' means.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto afiixedour signatures. 

